Victorian Costuming

Category Archives: Historical Sew Fortnightly

I bought the fabric for my up coming dress. It is for the HSF challenge “fashion plate” in which we are to use a fashion plate as inspiration. This is the plate I chose.

The plan is to finally create something that I could wear with this shawl.

I needed about 10 meters of a blue or grey toned solid and about 2 meters of a pink toned patterned material. And I needed it to be cheap. I couldn’t find anything that matched those parameters but I did find an inexpensive pink solid and moderately price blue toned pattern. (Both are synthetic but to the untrained eye, are reasonable fakes.)

The pink is a ghastly shiny satin that screams “fake” but the wrong side is much more understated and looks a bit like a silk dupioni (if you aren’t a fabric/textile expert.)

The blue was likely intended for curtains but I think it goes well with the pink.

I’m okay with the completed project being the opposite color scheme of the fashion plate. It was intended to be inspiration only. I do feel I have compromised on what I wanted with a dress that will be primarily pink. To my thinking, pink is a young girls color. I fear looking a bit like a ewe trying to be a lamb. But, what the heck. Never say never! The fact that there is a saying like “ewe dressed as a lamb” means that some older women did (and do) dress in fashions meant for younger women. I wont say older Victorian women NEVER wore pink. And in fact, I can’t say I know for sure that the fashion police ever told older Victorian women not to wear pink. I do know that pink for girls and baby blue for boys is the opposite of what was considered normal in Victorian times so my idea that “pink is for young people” may actually be a modern concept. If anyone out there knows for sure, please share!

PS I need a name for this dress so I can create a blog category for it. So far I am going with 1896 I Love Ewe

Gosh this is late. And not really finished how I wanted! The plan was to knit a pair of stockings and use the quote from Jane Eyre.

” but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts asmuch as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for theirsex.”

As you can see, I only got one stocking done. A little late I can handle, but over a month late is too much. So I quickly switched to garters. The pattern is from Godey’s Lady’s book from the civil war era. The pattern is on line. Those I finished. I wore the one stocking with a garter to see how well they held up. They didn’t. They might work on knee highs but not on crotch highs. Gravity is too strong a force. I may resort to some sort of belt system or elastic for the socks and try the garter on shorter socks.

Here are the stats:

What the item is: Garters

The Challenge, and how this item fulfills it: Literature-see above quote.

Fabric/Materials: yarn-synthetic blend with a silky feel to it.

Pattern: Godey’s Lady’s Book

Year: 1860’s

Notions: double point needles

How historically accurate is it?The only thing that is off is the fibers. I’d give it a 90%

Hours to complete: about 6

First worn: around the house last week

Total cost: I used scraps left over from the one sock I made. Mere pennies.

I had much bigger plans for this project. I was going to knit a Canadian Cloud which is a rectangle about 2-3 meters long. But it is slow going. Each row takes 45 minutes and each inch takes about 6 rows. It was never going to happen for this challenge. So I decided to go for the easy project we all love. The reticule.

The Challenge: Circles, squares and rectangles. The four sides are rectangles and the bottom is a square.

Material: grey polyester satin, pink cotton

Pattern:self drafted

Year: Reticles were used for decades but I intend it for an 1890’s dress.

Notions: lace (I used needle tatted lace I made years ago) and ribbon

How historically accurate is it? The pattern is plausible. Anyone needing a bag and wanting use up scraps could come up with the same thing. The fiber content is TERRIBLE! (But it was in the stash.) Plain (no print) fabric was used. The color was used. I don’t know enough about weave to claim “accurate or not accurate.” I machine sewed the main seams so it wouldn’t be accurate if used with an outfit earlier than the late 1850’s. The ribbon is poly. The needle tatted lace is probably the most accurate thing as it was a handwork done in the Victorian era and the thread is at least natural if not silk. I intend to use it with an evening dress from the 1890’s and my Victorian alter ego tends to be upper middle class and slightly matronly. I think this bag suits that persona. I give it about 55%.

Hours to complete: 5

First worn: not yet

Total cost: 0$ I raided the scrap bag and lace and ribbon stash. The cost of these things were factored into earlier projects.

How historically accurate is it? The pattern is good (thank you Truly Victorian for your dedicated work). Linen was used as was Battenberg lace (though the lace was added after the shirt was assembled). It is a vintage or older table cloth so the weave might be more accurate than a modern linen, but I am only guessing. The color is good. My buttons are plastic which is not ideal-possible but not common. It is intended for day wear for my persona (upper middle class middle aged woman). I think the silhouette is good. Biggest problem is the corset-not the shirt itself. I give it about 85%.

Hours to complete: Not bad, once I got going. I’d say about 30.

First worn: Not yet

Total cost: $15 for the table cloth, $5 for the buttons.

I’ve juggled around my projects and gave myself an easy one to work on next weekend. That should get April’s challenge off my dance card. Stay tuned.

How historically accurate is it?: 80%. Pattern is an original from the time and fiber content of the wool is correct. The color is plausible but I can’t speak to whether the dyes are accurate or whether the spinning technique is comparable to Victorian wool. I used wood knitting needles so very true to form! It is intended for winter wear for most occasions. I believe all classes of women would wear this item. Both working women and would knit them so both would wear them. The silhouette is a bit off when compared to the drawing. I had to increase stitches and rows to get it to fit. If I were to make them again, I would decrease the number of rows between the two puffs by 8 and add them back into the larger top puff.

Hours to complete: about 30

First worn: not yet

Total cost: balls of wool x $8=$24

Here is the pattern, in modern terms, enlarged to fit a “stout” modern body, with the changes I mention above (that should improve the shape). To get the best fit the number of cast on stitches you need is the number you would need to go around the widest part of your fore arm. The number of rows, in total is the number you would need to go from the widest part of your upper arm to your wrist, with extra added to create the puffs.

Worsted weight wool. One ball of white, two balls of main color. 4.5 mm knitting needles. With the exception of the ribbing at the top, the whole thing is done in the knit stitch only.

Cast on 52 stitches with the white wool.

Knit 14 rows.

Switch to the main color and knit 26 rows.

Slip one stitch onto the right needle and pick up the first of the cast on stitches. Slip the second stitch onto the needle and pick up the second cast on stitch. Continue in this fashion until all the stitches and all the cast on stitches have been transferred to the right hand needle.

Transfer all the stitches back to the left hand needle. Add the white wool (you can leave the brown still attached) and knit 2 together across all the stitches. Knit one more row in white.

Leave the white attached and pick up the brown wool. Knit two rows in brown.

Leave the brown attached and pick up the white wool. Knit two rows in white. Break off the white and tie it off.

Knit 17 rows in brown.

Switch to white. Knit 14 rows.

Switch to brown. Knit 26 rows.

Slip one stitch onto the right needle and pick up the first of the white stitches in the block of white. Slip the second stitch onto the needle and pick up the second of the white stitches in the block of white. Continue in this fashion until all the stitches and all the stitches of the first row of the block of white have been transferred to the right hand needle.

Transfer all the stitches back to the left hand needle. Add the white wool (you can leave the brown still attached) and knit 2 together across all the stitches. Knit one more row in white.

Leave the white attached and pick up the brown wool. Knit two rows in brown.

Leave the brown attached and pick up the white wool. Knit two rows in white. Break off and tie off the white.

In brown, *knit one stitch and increase 1 stitch in each of the next two*. *Repeat across the row*. Knit 52 rows in brown.

Switch to white and knit 2 together across the row. To create the ribbing, knit 1 purl 1 across the row. Next row, purl 1 knit 1 across the row. Repeat until the cuff is 26 rows long. Cast off LOOSELY.

Sew the two side edges to create a tube. If the ribbing is too loose, I think you could add elastic or a cording without messing with the authenticity too much. In 1820 elastic was patented for use in clothing.

Well, this is a tad late! Three and a half weeks late! But as you know, December and January was totally messed up for me with stress at work, two car accidents (neither my fault), dealing with the devil (ie insurance company) and car shopping. My project for this month is a total cheat so, baring any disasters, should be done on time.

The Challenge: First and Last. This is a Victorian Chemise and this would be the first thing someone would put on.

Material: cotton (possibly a blend…it has been in my stash for ages, I don’t remember its content.)

Pattern: Laughing Moons Victorian undies.

Year: The package is listed as Victorian so I will go with 1836-1901.

Notions: lace (my stash only had poly stuff and this is a stash busting year) 2 buttons.

How historically accurate is it? So-so. The definite and possible synthetic fibers are bad. The pattern is okay I believe. I machine sewed which would be bad if the goal was for the earlier end of the Victorian era. As far as the persona I costume for (upper middle class older lady who is a bit on the conservative side) the style and amount of trim would be appropriate. So I give it a grade of 60%

Hours to complete: 10 which is more than it should. I just couldn’t do the mental aerobics required to attach the yoke so that the hand stitching that covers the seam was on the inside. I had to do it 3 times! I’ve made this pattern before! So annoyed with myself!

First worn: not yet

Total cost: Nothing. I used a pattern I had used before and I used material left over from a petticoat that I way over estimated the fabric needs. The lace and buttons were also stash, either given to me or salvaged from other sources.

I need side projects because I have so much time and I brilliantly sail through major projects with no issues and my mood is always set on “high productivity”. Yeah, right. If I really believed that, this past weekend would have destroyed my illusions.

I have a new job so I have no vacation time. This means the past couple of weeks of long weekends is the closest I have come to having time off since August. So oodles of time is not something I have.

I tried, yesterday, to finish my leather gloves for the final challenge in HSF 2016 but it resisted all efforts to progress. In fact, I may have buggered it up enough that it may have to be wadded up and tossed. Definitely hitting the UFO pile and for the first time since I started HSF, I will not have an entry into the challenges. Lets scratch brilliantly sails through major projects with no issues.

This goes back to what I said in my last post about not touching a project when the mood is off. I’m having some car drama…long story. Which means I’m swinging between fury and depression with 30 second bursts of optimism. It was that 30 seconds that urged me to face the gloves and attempt to finish them. MISTAKE!

So someone tell me why I started a Pintrest board for housewife/sewing kits with dreams to make “historical” ones as an accessory and modern ones for my knitting needles, crochet hooks and all the junk I store next to my “spot” on the living room couch? My only theory is: when the creative juju evades you, you can at least, dream and what is Pintrest but a record of peoples dreams.